5 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Johnson County, Iowa.
Verified from official government sources
Unincorporated Johnson County sets no rule on where you keep carts between collections. Iowa City asks residents to retrieve carts the same day but does not require them screened from the street. The county steps in only when refuse spills into a nuisance.
Iowa City enforces the International Property Maintenance Code and a nuisance-abatement ordinance against blight — peeling paint, broken windows, junk and derelict vehicles. Unincorporated Johnson County handles blight through its nuisance ordinance and zoning enforcement.
Vacant-lot owners in Johnson County must control weeds and clear dumped debris. Iowa's noxious-weed law makes weed control every owner's duty, and Iowa City holds vacant parcels to the same grass and nuisance standards as occupied ones, abating and billing neglect.
Iowa City requires owners and tenants to clear snow and ice from abutting sidewalks within 24 hours (City Code 16-1A-8), the full width down to the pavement. Miss the deadline and the city hires a contractor and bills you plus a $100 fee.
Neither Johnson County nor its cities license residential yard sales, so cleanup rules come from property-maintenance and sign codes. Merchandise, tables and signs left in the yard after a sale can be cited as clutter in Iowa City and Coralville, or abated as a county nuisance.
1 cities in Johnson County have their own property maintenance rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
See every category we cover for Johnson County — parking, noise, fences, fires, animals, pools, and more.
Johnson County Ordinance Hub →